Ask most tourists to name the capital city of Australia, and expect many to answer that it’s either Melbourne or Sydney, but rarely someone will say ‘Canberra’. For information of the readers, Canberra is a well planned city with a somewhat idealistic location in a valley near a lake (Lake Burley Griffin) and is surrounded by green hills. In fact, it is also fondly referred to as the ‘bush capital’ because a huge chunk of the surrounding land is a ‘green-belt’ no construction area denoted as national parks or nature reserves. Ideally, and from tourism point of view, if you do plan a visit to Canberra, then try to make it in the month of March. And if perchance you can make it on the third Monday of March, then you can actually partake in the festive occasion of ‘Canberra Day’ held each year same time to celebrate the birthday of the city. This ten-day extravaganza includes a Mardi Gras parade, a whole lot of local displays of the arts and the culture, including an abundant variety and combination of local music and food. And if you are not able to make it within those ten days, do not despair. In Canberra, the entire month of March is festival time, and one should try not to miss the huge and popular, National Folk Festival.
The capital city is not very densely populated, has a wonderful commercial hub, and besides the Parliament House that is required to be based in the capital city, it is also home to the National Library, the National Gallery, and the High Court of Australia. Let us start our tourism jaunt by look at two of the interesting attractions.
Parliament House
Constructed in 1988 on the peak of Capital Hill, the Parliament House is for all practical purposes a ‘new’ building with a totally modern construction. It is placed strategically in the midst of a 23 hectare garden, and one unique feature is that the entire roof-top of the Parliament House is actually grass-covered and on which one is permitted to take a walk. The Parliament House is naturally the focal building of Canberra where the elected members deliberate on and take major decisions that govern the entire country. The walls of Parliament House are adorned with some classic and modern art that the visitors can stroll and view and if one is lucky enough, that is if the parliament session is in progress, there is also the opportunity to actually observe from a visitor’s gallery the deliberations of the members during the ‘question hour’.
National Gallery
The National Gallery is a virtual treasure-trove of art, housing more than 70,000 rare works that encompass right from the local contemporary Aboriginal art and craft to the exquisite range that covers practically all the old masters of Europe. The National Gallery is undoubtedly home to the finest modern as well as classic art collection in this part of the southern hemisphere. The National Gallery is practically a must see stop-over for art-lovers, and one can even recommend not missing the Jackson Pollock ‘Blue Poles’.